Channel Seven star Ryan Phelan, 45, is CLEARED of assaulting ex-fiancee

A hearing into allegations that Channel 7 star Ryan Phelan (left) assaulted Chelsea Franklin (right) inside their $2 million home in June

TV star Ryan Phelan has had charges of assaulting his dance teacher ex-fiancee dropped by police, with his lawyers now claiming he was the victim.

Phelan, 45, was charges with two counts of assault in June after police alleged he had assaulted Chelsea Franklin during a row inside their $2million home at Frenchs Forest, on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Just days before the incident Phelan had been sacked as host of The Daily Edition by his longtime employer Channel Seven.

Phelan denied any wrongdoing from the outset and on Friday morning NSW Police dropped the charges against him.

‘I have always taken a stand against domestic violence and find it abhorrent. These accusations were distressing and extremely damaging to me and my reputation,’ he said in a statement.

‘I would like to thank NSW Police for their thorough investigation into this matter.’

Ms Franklin (left) on

Phelan’s glamorous solicitor Claudette Chua said ‘new evidence’ had come to light, leading prosecutors to drop the charges.

Ms Chua indicated that as part of the proceedings she and her legal team had been planning to use information about ‘previous police matters involving Ms Franklin’.

‘We are thrilled yet not surprised by the news today,’ she said.

‘Mr Phelan has always emphatically denied the allegation made against him. It was a matter of time before the truth came to light.

‘New evidence put before Police clears Mr Phelan of wrongdoing and highlights that he was in fact the victim.

‘At the time of the withdrawal of charges, we had also subpoenaed information about previous Police matters involving Ms. Franklin. Until these proceedings, my client had been in the dark about those matters, and we are confident that they would have supported a finding by the Court, and the public, that Ms. Franklin’s motives were unscrupulous and vindictive.’

The case had initially been set down for a hearing on December 22 with police set to allege Phelan had grabbed Ms Franklin around the neck and chest.

She had claimed he then dragged her across a room of their house and ‘threw’ her to the ground.

On the morning after his arrest Ms Franklin told Daily Mail Australia she was ‘gutted’ by the row that ended their relationship and indicated that his sacking was to blame.

‘I’m gutted, I’m devastated, I’m shattered. I’ve lost my lover, I’ve lost my boyfriend – I love him,’ Ms Franklin said.

Phelan’s solicitor Claudette Chua (left) appeared on his behalf in Manly Local Court on Tuesday where the prosecution indicated Ms Franklin and the officer in charge of the case would be the only two witnesses at the December 22 hearing

‘It was just a horrible mistake really, we’ve had a wonderful two-and-a-half years together, nothing like that has ever happened before.

‘Obviously with what’s going on with him being made redundant and there’s a couple of other personal issues I had and he had, and I think it just took its toll.

‘I love Ryan, he’s an amazing person… its been a tough, tough week, but he’s been an amazing person to me and I love him. It’s just a horrible mistake.’

An AVO taken out by police to protect Ms Franklin was also dropped on Friday.

In their application to a court for the AVO, police alleged Phelan and Ms Franklin had returned early from a holiday in the Hunter Valley on Saturday, June 20.

The pair had an argument with each other over the ‘quality of their accommodation’.

When they got home, Ms Franklin claimed Phelan was in a ‘cold’ mood toward her and ignored her for the rest of the day.

Court documents said Ms Franklin then confronted Phelan in the downstairs area of their $2million Frenchs Forest home about 5.15pm. She began throwing records from his music collection on the floor.

The police application said: ‘(Ms Franklin) picked up one of the defendant’s music records from a shelf and said: “It seems like you care more about these records than me”.

The alleged assault came just days after Phelan lost his job as the host of Channel 7 afternoon program The Daily Edition (Phelan is pictured with former co-host Sally Obermeder)

Sources claim Phelan was watching the football on TV at the time.

The AVO application alleged Ms Franklin then threw the ‘records’ on the ground and Phelan approached her.

‘(Ms Franklin) alleges the defendant grabbed her around the chest and neck area, placing her in a hold and dragged her across the room before throwing her to the ground.’

The court document alleges she felt ‘immediate pain to her neck and collarbone area’ and ‘sustained bruising to the shoulder and chest area’.

‘(Phelan) said to (Ms Franklin) ‘this is my house, you f***ing get out’ before the defendant walked off to the kitchen,’ the documents claim.

Ms Franklin allegedly then collected her belongings and went to police with her teenage daughter, where it is claimed she was seen ‘visibly shaking and in tears’.

Phelan was later charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and common assault. He ’emphatically’ denies both charges.

Outside court in June, Phelan’s solicitor Ms Chua (pictured) claimed the allegations against her client were ‘false’ and described them as ‘unhelpful to women everywhere’

The alleged assault came just two days after Phelan was told he was being made redundant by Seven and that the show he co-hosted with Sally Obermeder was being axed.

Phelan was granted conditional bail a week ago and an interim apprehended violence order is in place with standard conditions banning him from approaching her.

Outside court in June, Phelan’s solicitor Claudette Chua claimed the allegations against her client were ‘false’.

She told a large crowd of reporters that her client had been cooperating with the police investigation.

‘Mr Phelan has been cooperating with police,’ she said.

‘He respects and understands that the police, and the courts, have an obligation to take any allegation of domestic violence very seriously.

‘False allegations of domestic violence are extremely serious, they result in the total unacceptable victimisation of the accused person, and they also are unhelpful to women everywhere.’